‘Mimi wo Kaku Onna (The Ear Cleaner)’

Hiroshi Horiuchi’s 2012 drama about a girl (Rina Sakuragi) who becomes psychologically deaf after a 3/11 trauma and finds an unusual part-time job in an ear-cleaning establishment is awkwardly acted, but newcomer Sakuragi’s combination of purity and sensuality, as well as the nature of her trade, ministering to her clients (including a future lover) with their heads on her lap, makes for an oddly soothing erotic experience. CN Entertainment’s Region 3 DVD comes with English and Chinese subs, but no extras.